Framingham State Claims Top Seed in 2024 MASCAC Women's Basketball Tournament
After winning the regular season title, the Framingham State Rams claimed the top seed in the upcoming 2024 MASCAC Women's Basketball Tournament which begins on Tuesday.
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After winning the regular season title, the Framingham State Rams claimed the top seed in the upcoming 2024 MASCAC Women's Basketball Tournament which begins on Tuesday.
Starting with the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, February 20, #3 Westfield State hosts #6 Fitchburg State at 5:30 pm then #4 Salem States hosts #5 Worcester State at 7pm. Next in the semifinals, #1 Framingham State will host the lowest remaining seed on Thursday, February 22 at 6 pm while #2 Bridgewater State will host the highest remaining seed.
The two semifinal winners will then meet on Saturday, February 24 at the highest remaining seed at a time to be determined for the MASCAC Tournament title. The winner not only gets the title, but a spot in the NCAA Tournament the following week.
Framingham State finished 12-1 during the conference slate to earn the regular season crown. Leading the way for the Rams is Flannery O'Connor who ended the regular season averaging a double-double of 16.2 points and 11 rebounds per game (both top five in the MASCAC) while shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 82.1 percent from the free throw line. She also collected 47 assists, 28 steals and 15 blocks this season.
Earning the second first round bye with the second seed is Bridgewater State who was 10-2 during the conference slate. Reigning MASCAC Player of the Year Kylie Grassi continued her scoring dominance from last season, averaging the most points per game in the conference at 20.7 per game with 496 total points. She also had 64 assists, 54 steals and 16 blocks while shooting 75 percent from the line.
Grabbing the third seed and quarterfinal hosting responsibilities is Westfield State with the third seed. The Owls had a 9-3 record at the end of MASCAC action. Jordan Grant averaged 15.9 points and 5.8 rebounds with a 47.2 shooting percentage from the floor per game. She also tallied 55 steals, 35 assists and 15 blocks to close out the regular season.
Salem State rounds out the hosting duties for the quarterfinal round with the fourth seed. Leading the way for the Vikings was Ernidia Goncalves who was a walking double-double this season with 18 total on the year, averaging 17.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. She led the league in blocks with 55 while her total rebounds, offensive rebounds and rebounds per game were the best in the MASCAC this season.
Closing out this year's tournament field is Worcester State and Fitchburg State with the fifth and sixth seed. For the Lancers, Katie Hurynowicz scored 17.2 points per game while collecting eight rebounds per game. She also registered 66 assists, 59 steals and 14 blocks on the year. For the Falcons, Rylie Harlow averaged 12.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while also tallying 64 assists, 38 steals and two blocks.
During last year's tournament title game, top seed Bridgewater State used a second half comeback to take the win 64-59 over third seed Westfield State to win the 2023 MASCAC Women's Basketball Tournament crown.